Cash Prizes Awarded to Winners of College Photography Contest & PA Photographers Juried Exhibition; Winner of #InVision2016 Instagram Photo Contest Also Announced

With dynamic works that celebrate both traditional and contemporary photography, Judy Gelles of Philadelphia and Yixuan Lui of Lehigh University were selected as the first-place winners of the 5th Annual Olympus InVision PA Photographers Juried Exhibition and InVision College Photography Contest, respectively, during the 7th annual Olympus InVision Photo Festival Nov. 4-6. Chuck Velas of Bethlehem was also named the grand prize winner of the inaugural #InVision2016 Instagram Photo Contest. InVision photo competition winners were unveiled during the InVision Photo Party Nov. 5 at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.

englandfourthgrade-judygellesGelles captured the grand prize in the PA Photographers Exhibit competition for her image from her series “Fourth Grade,” featuring a portrait of an English school student in uniform. Over the past eight years Gelles has interviewed and photographed more than 300 students from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds in China, India, South Korea, England, St. Lucia, Italy, South Africa, Nicaragua and the United States. As the winner of the PA Photographers Exhibition, Gelles was awarded a $1,500 cash prize.

untitledchicago-yixuanliuJuried this year by Professor William Earl Williams of Haverford College, the PA Photographers Exhibition is in its fifth year at InVision. This year’s exhibit, on display through Jan. 9 in the Banana Factory’s Crayola Gallery, features 72 works by 57 Pennsylvania photographers.

Lui, the winner of the College Photography Contest, created an intriguing image of children playing underneath a luminous art installation by Jesús Rafael Soto in the Pénétrable de Chicago exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago. As the first-place winner, Lui took home $500 and a new Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II camera.

The InVision College Photography Contest was juried by George Kalinsky, one of this year’s featured InVision presenters and the official photographer for Madison Square Garden for the past 50 years. Twenty-four students’ works are featured in the exhibit, which is on display in the Banana Factory’s Hallway to the Arts through Dec. 18.

instagram-chuckvelasNew to the festival this year was the #InVision2016 Instagram Photo Contest. Out of 479 entries, Chuck Velas of Bethlehem was selected as the winner for his black & white photo that captured children playing against the glass storefront of Tapas on Main. Velas was awarded a new Olympus PEN E-PL7 Camera as the winner of the competition.

The complete list of winners is:

PA Photographers Juried Exhibition
First Place:                 Judy Gelles, Philadelphia ($1,500)
2nd:                              Fred Bergstresser, Nazareth ($1,000)
3rd:                              Joan Zachary, Bath ($500)


College Photography Contest
First Place:                 Yixuan Lui, Lehigh University ($500 and Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II)
2nd:                              Anna Egger, Lehigh University ($250)
3rd:                              Jeremiah Reardon, Northampton Community College ($150)

#InVision2016 Instagram Photo Contest
Grand Prize:                Chuck Velas, Bethlehem (Olympus PEN E-PL7)